Lighting console by LTC
ShowTimeCoda plays the music to the PA and sends LTC from a second output of the sound card into a lighting console's timecode input. Each song gets its own hour, so the lighting programmer can work song by song.
Example setup, not a customer story. Check it with your own gear before a show.
You need
- An audio interface with at least three outputs (or two, with music in mono), and a cable from a spare output to the console's LTC input (usually XLR).
- The console set up to read LTC. Most consoles can record and play back a timecode show; see its manual.
Steps
- Agree the frame rate with the lighting programmer. 25 fps (PAL countries) or 30 fps are the safest: some consoles read only 24, 25 and 30 and treat 29.97 as 30, which drifts. Set it in Setup > Show timing.
- One hour per song. Give song 1 a Start TC of 01:00:00:00, song 2 02:00:00:00 and so on. The programmer can then tell from the hour which song a cue belongs to, and editing one song never moves another.
- LTC out. In Setup > LTC audio, click Detect, choose the interface output pair that carries output 3, and the channel (left or right) that goes to the console. Start at a moderate level and raise it until the console reads steadily.
- Programme audio. ShowTimeCoda plays the music on the Windows default output. Make that outputs 1–2 of the same interface, so LTC and music share one clock.
- Console. Set its LTC input to the same frame rate, then record or program cues against the incoming timecode.
- Pre-roll. In Setup > Show timing, set Pre-roll to a few seconds (3 s is a good start), so the console is locked before each song's first beat.
- Calibrate. If lighting hits land early or late, adjust the LTC offset in milliseconds.
Settings at a glance
| Mode | Master TC Out |
|---|---|
| Frame rate | 25 or 30 fps, matching the console |
| Cue Start TC | 01:00:00:00, 02:00:00:00, 03:00:00:00… |
| LTC audio | On, interface output 3 (one channel), level set at the console |
| Pre-roll | 3 s |
Check before the show
- The console's timecode display matches ShowTimeCoda's OUT readout.
- Start each song from the top and from a sub-cue: the console follows the jump.
- Pause and resume: the console stops and continues.
- Keep LTC off the PA: it's a loud buzzing signal.
Consoles that take MIDI Time Code or Art-Net timecode instead can use those outputs in exactly the same way: see the manual.